Hassles
by Gnine
Summary: Daniel needs Jack's help with a small problem...


Title: Hassles   
Author: Gnine   
Category: smarm, drama   
Archive: anywhere, just ask.   
Series: none   
Season/spoilers: mid to late fourth season   
Rating: PG   
Warning: none   
Summary: Daniel needs Jack's help with a small problem.   
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, never did, though we could all dream right?   
Author's Note: This is my first fic not only for the SG-1 fandom, but in general. (So, I'm really really nervous! And my sis is telling me it's natural to get first-post jitters;) Well, OK, I'll be honest, this is the first fic I've actually gotten to the point I can post. (There are lots more in many different stages) So, please be kind…any comments, good or bad, though prefer the good are welcome.   
  
Hassles   
  
By Gnine   
  
Jack spotted him the moment he walked in, before the door even clicked shut behind him. A lone figure, hunched in a chair in the corner, head down, arms crossed tightly over his chest.   
  
It was such an indubitably-Daniel pose that even across the expanse of the room and with the dim lighting, he was still positive of the man's identity. All that, and of course the fact that there were only three other people present in the squad room.   
  
Two chatted amiably away in the corner, glancing up only briefly at his appearance, then returning to whatever topic they found so absorbing. The third sat blinking blearily at some file or other, guzzling coffee at an alarming rate. The sight of the Dunkin Donuts cup made Jack grimace, wishing he'd had time to grab some in his mad rush to get out the door and over here; certainly would have helped. Maybe clear some of the haze around his mind.   
  
He hadn't been thinking too clearly since being roused an hour ago from a dead slumber. Imagine his surprise...and annoyance, at waking to the phone blaring near his ear and, upon glancing at the clock, discovering it was almost three in the morning.   
  
Lets just say that hearing Daniel's voice had not put the younger man on his favorite persons list. In fact, he was shooting right up to the top of another special list, up until the point his words sunk in. Pick him up? Police station...mugging? His body was in motion, grabbing for his clothes long before his thoughts caught up, those few phrases waking him up faster and more effectively than a bucket of ice cold water.   
  
He'd promised he'd be there as soon as possible, hung up, and got moving. He just thanked god it was late and there weren't any other cars or, more importantly, pedestrians about. And now here he was, he'd had the whole car ride to worry about what exactly had happened and was more than ready to get some answers as he walked over to his friend, who had yet to notice his presence.   
  
"Hey Daniel..." he muttered in a none-too-gentle tone, frustration and worry making his words sound harsher than intended. "What happened?"   
  
Head and eyes tilted up for one brief instant, then returned to their intense scrutiny of the floor. "Hello Jack...thanks for coming by."   
  
Ignored his question completely, voice calm, as if he was just stopping by for a goddamn cup of tea. But, before Jack had a chance to repeat his question, more insistently this time, the officer presumably handling the case interrupted.   
  
"Well, Mr. Jackson, " he began after a nod to Jack, "You can go now. And, as long as you don't press charges, Mr. Lea and Mr. Sergei's lawyers have convinced them it would be better for all concerned if they didn't press charges against you either."   
  
Daniel nodded, rising and grabbing his coat, unconcerned. Whoa! Jack slammed on the proverbial mental brakes. Charges? Against Daniel? "Listen, what do you mean--"   
  
The officer turned to him in response to his yelp, but before he could demand what the hell he meant by charges, Daniel cleared his throat, shooting a glare at him. "Thank you, Officer Burgi. Jack, can we go now..." Voice pleading. Oh, no, that was not going to work! He wanted to know what was going on and there was no way he was leaving until--   
  
"Please..." the younger man added quietly. The cut lip and bruising on his cheek, noticeable now that he had stood up and was facing him, only added to the whipped puppy look. Dammit Daniel, that's below the belt. I can't say no to that look and you damn well know it!   
  
"Fine," he ground out. But this isn't over, not by a long shot. Thanking the officer once more, they left, walking swiftly to the car in an uneasy silence. Jack gave him a minute or two of quiet as he started the car and pulled out into the deserted streets, but his patience only went so far.   
  
"Wanna talk about it?"   
  
"No."   
  
Jack grimaced, suddenly feeling like a dentist pulling teeth. "What did the officer mean back there when he said--"   
  
"Jack, I really don't want to discuss it. Let it be...OK?" He sounded stressed, tired.   
  
Sorry Daniel, not working this time, and if he wasn't going to open up easily, he'd just have to up the stakes. "Maybe we should swing by the SGC, have Doc Fraiser check you out. Looks like you--"   
  
"I'm fine," came the swift, if slightly panicked response.   
  
"Really, Daniel? See, I gotta argue with you on that one 'cause getting mugged, not to mention physically assaulted by two people, just doesn't qualify as 'fine' in my book. I want to know what happened!"   
  
"Jack--"   
  
"Daniel!" He used the 'full colonel mode' voice, brooking no arguments.   
  
The younger man sighed, eyes turned away, gazing out at the dark streets. "I went for a walk. As you might have noticed, it's kind of been a rough few weeks--"   
  
Jack's harsh bark of laughter cut in. "See you're going for that understatement of the year award, huh?" Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a hint of a smile, but it disappeared so fast he couldn't be sure.   
  
"Yah, well, anyway, I just needed to get out, clear my head...think about all that's been...happening..." he trailed off, falling silent.   
  
After a minute, Jack spared a glance from the road. Was this an attempt for sympathy, another way for him to get out of telling? If so, it wasn't going to work...well, maybe it would, but he damn well was going to hold out at least a little longer. "And?"   
  
In the reflection of the dark window glass, Jack definitely caught a frown. "I lost it." Spoken so quietly he wasn't sure he'd heard it at first.   
  
"Uh, excuse me? Run that by me again."   
  
Scrunching up his face, Daniel shrugged. "I was lost in thought, felt a rough hand on my shoulder, than a voice demanding money. Said they had a knife and better hand it all over. And..." the sound he emitted was something between a laugh and a groan. "Instead of doing the logical thing, I said no."   
  
"No? You said no? Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you supposed to be the smart one?"   
  
A sigh. "Jack..."   
  
"Kidding, Daniel, go on."   
  
"Well...as you can imagine, they weren't exactly pleased."   
  
He held his tongue...barely.   
  
"Anyway, that's where I picked the split lip."   
  
Jack winced, couldn't help it; he suddenly had the strong desire to have the two men in front of him...little payback. "And then you handed over your--"   
  
"No...then I..." Daniel hunched his shoulders, brow furrowed, blinking as he recalled the events. "I fought back."   
  
The car swerved as Jack's grip on the steering wheel tightened. "You...what? Daniel, of all the stupid...against two guys? They could have--"   
  
"I beat the crap out of them." It was a whisper, filled with remorse.   
  
Jack's mind decided to take a little vacation as it attempted to wrap itself around that concept. Daniel fought and...won? True, when he'd first met the man, geek had been the nice way of saying what he'd thought of him and if anyone had told him that in a little while the dweeb would be going on missions, guarding his six and taking out Jaffa left and right, Jack would have laughed in their face. So the man was full of surprises. But still, even after all that, Jack knew beyond a doubt that Daniel didn't like violence and hand-to-hand fighting had never been his forte...   
  
His musings came to an abrupt halt at the sound of Daniel's uneasy shifting, bringing the realization that the silence had now stretched on for several minutes. Just great, his passenger was staring moodily at his hands clasped in his lap, plainly doing the guilt thing. Oh, for crying out loud, did Daniel honestly think he'd done something wrong by not getting the shit beaten out of him? Probably. Jack just had to convince him otherwise....   
  
His sudden chuckle caused Daniel to jump and flinch simultaneously, puzzlement written all over his face as he turned to him. Jack glanced between him and the road, grin growing. "Way to go Daniel!"   
  
Blue eyes bulged, then blinked. "Ah...Jack? Are you--"   
  
"Apparently you were paying attention to at least some of what I said in those self-defense lessons. I'm touched. " His grin widened at Daniel's confused frown.   
  
"Jack...this is serious. I put one of them in the hospital with a broken arm and two broken ribs!"   
  
"Good, more power to you!" He was beginning to enjoy the ever-increasing bewilderment on his friend's face.   
  
"Jack!"   
  
"Daniel!" he imitated his tone. "Listen up!"   
  
"...I'm listening."   
  
"The guys tried to steal from you...then they attacked you?"   
  
"Yeah, but...I still don't see--"   
  
"Ah Ah, no buts. Also, two against one, which everyone knows is so totally...bad."   
  
"Bad?"   
  
Jack ignored him. "So, basically, two playground bullies who never grew up picked you as an easy target, you surprised them, and now you're feeling guilty for teaching those guys a lesson?" He risked another glance, catching the other man's eye and grinned wickedly. "Wish I could've seen it."   
  
Even though his attention had returned to the road, he could feel the intense gaze studying him, attempting to figure out how serious Jack was being, if he really meant it. More importantly, if he was right. 'Course he was right, he just hoped Daniel would see it.   
  
"The officer who arrived on the scene did comment that from the looks of it, I had a pretty mean right hook." Apparently he did. Though he said it with a neutral voice, Jack heard the smile in it.   
  
"Yah, I'll be sure to remember that. Good stress reliever, huh? If a bit messy."   
  
Daniel paused, mouth slightly agape. "You know, you're right...although I hate admitting it, I do feel better."   
  
Jack nodded, then jerked the wheel hard to the right only a millisecond after throwing the blinker on, pulling into a 24-hour convenient mart.   
  
"Ah...what are we doing?"   
  
"Celebrating! You finally won a fight...fairly this time. Beers on me..." he paused. "Or do you want something else," he added as an afterthought, recalling a long since past random comment, spoken when tensions were high, but still, might as well ask.   
  
Daniel ducked his head, embarrassed, as he too remembered. "No, beer's fine. Acquired taste, I guess."   
  
"Good." They started heading in, before Jack stopped once more, hand snagging the younger man's arm, bringing him to a rest as well. He turned, confused once more. "What?"   
  
"Just...next time you feel the world all coming down on top of you, and you just have to wail on someone, maybe it'd be a...better idea not to go after some random stranger--"   
  
"Jack, I didn't--"   
  
"For crying out loud, can't you let a man finish a sentence?"   
  
Daniel sighed. "Whatever...go on, Jack."   
  
"Thank you. Now, instead, why don't you come down to the gym, join me and Teal'c, do a little boxing." To emphasis the point, he bounced back and forth on the balls of his feet, jabbing the air a few times, the last one catching the other man lightly on the arm. He winked.   
  
And was rewarded by one of those rare, brilliant Daniel Jackson smiles. "Thanks, Jack. I might just take you up on that."   
  
"Sure." He slung his arm over his friend's shoulder, nudging him into a walk again. "Any time, Daniel, any time."   
  
The End   
  
Comments, thoughts...anything? Hey, I'm desperate! First fic ever posted for any of my many fandoms (except for one or two co-written things), so, love to hear ANYTHING you have to say! Please....   
  
And oh, my Oneechan beta'd for me. Thank you, XmagX! I wuv you! 


End file.
